The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1887-12-10

w
j, also very skillful at sewing these skin
although their needles were only bon
{ of fishes and the points of lcavs of Il
| palnl-tree. They made with wo;,
t rlshes real tissues. resembling .un.i
, cloth. Although they might not kno
!, OF the wheel their skill was great j
the potter's arr. Their vases are fir
quently of large dimcnsions,' of elegar
forms, and of red color. with design
in bright red or in black. The handle
of some, says DR.. Chill. recall those q
the pottery of the ancientE egyptians
The Gouanches obtained fire by rub
bling a hard piece of wood against .
soft piece. They cultivated wheat. an,
above al barley. They consumed
great quantity of figs and dates. whicl
are only a little carneous and pcculia
10 the Canarics. The vine to them was
unknown. Although warriors, an,
often engaged in civil war, their arm
were of the most r%udimentnry kind
The stone-axes were exceptional
They did not even know the use of the
sling. They hurled stones by force OF
the arm, and this method of attack wa
sometimes terrible. Their defensive
arm was the stick, which was re-
doubtable in their hands. Their
breasts were protected with cuirasscs
of wood. 1t was with these elementary
mea that they for a long time resist.
ed their Spanish c%onqucrors and az
complished exploits which are ccle-
brated in the accounts of their chron.
iclers.
The Gouanches had neither chariots
nor carts, carrying every thing on
their backs. They possessed neither
boats nor RATS, but were very skillful
swimmers. As the seven islands were
too distant for them to communicate
in this way, their populations re-
manned isolated, and although they
had essentially the same degree Of
civilization, yet in detail their man.
ners were different In the islands of
Ventura the remains of inn
p%ortant structures are found, which
called palacio by the conquerors.
They cmlalmed their cadavcrs with
great care, but the process has been
.ost for preserving the flesh. The
preserved body was surrounded with
lromatic branches, and a number Of
AIMED skins of the hog and goat.
The mummy was then placed in Il
where it is preserved until
days. or in the open, under some
title tumulus. With the Egyptians
+ the time of the Pharaohs. and the
'eruvians Of the Incas. the Gouanches
we're the only people who practiccd
hummitication. They believed in a
Being, who chastised vice
nd recompensed virtue, particularly
'alor.
Contrary, however, to that which
he chroniclers assert-to justify, with
ut doubt, the cruelties of the Span
trds-they had no idols. Their re-
gion was very advanced. They had,
in the Grand Canarie, con-.
onts Of men who lived on public char
y, and converts of women vigorously
loistercd for whom the sight only Of
man was Il sin. The morals of the
Iouanches were severe. The man who
liscondncted himself was punished.
/ the case of a woman, she was un-
condemned to death. An.
her pitiablc feature OF their customs
as that the men and women were
permitted to take the same road,
ut had their separate paths. They
not how to write, but had, never.
public schools where the ira
ltions and national songs were taught.
heir language was lost after the con.
nest. They how speak only the
parish. San Francisco Chronicle.